This invention relates to a seat pad for outdoor furniture.
As is known, outdoor furniture such as chairs, settees, gliders and the like have been constructed to be of a cushion type or a non-cushion type. For example, outdoor chairs are known wherein a fabric or webbing is placed across a metal or wood frame in order to provide a seat and back surface to directly receive an occupant. Such constructions are of the non-cushion type and are designed with a particular seat geometry so that an occupant is seated comfortably.
Similar chairs also have been used with cushions to receive an occupant. Typically, the cushions are relatively thick and change the seating geometry of a chair by raising the level of the seat surface as well as changing the surface at which the back of the occupant is supported. Thus, these chairs are designed to compensate for the changes in geometry brought about by the cushions.
It is an object of this invention to provide a seat pad for a chair of the non-cushioned type that does not change the seating geometry of the chair.
It is another object of the invention to provide a seat pad for outdoor furniture of relatively thin construction.
It is another object of the invention to provide a contoured seat pad for a chair of relatively thin and generally rigid construction.
It is another object of the invention to provide a free-standing seat pad which is contoured to provide seat and back support surfaces.
Briefly, the invention is directed to a seat pad for outdoor furniture which is comprised of a pair of parallel spaced apart discrete bars, a fabric sleeve disposed over the bars and padding disposed in the sleeve between the bars to bias the bars laterally outwardly from each other and to stretch the sleeve into a flattened shape.
Each bar is of rigid stock material, such as aluminum, and is typically of rectangular cross section. In addition, each bar is contoured to complement the shape of the piece of furniture on which the pad is used. For example, each bar is formed with a horizontally disposed section and a vertically disposed section such that the fabric sleeve defines a flattened seat and a flattened back. Also, each of the horizontal and vertical sections of a bar may be contoured with a curved end and a rounded transition section may be disposed between the horizontal and vertical sections of the bar.
The seat pad is made as thin as possible to conform to a chair so as not to change the seating geometry of the chair. In this respect, the padding is made slightly thicker than the thickness of the rigid bars and is compressible to a slightly smaller thickness when seated upon it. Typically, the padding material is relatively dense, such as a densified polyester, in order to maintain the shape of the seat pad.
The seat pad further includes a plurality of rows of stitching across the sleeve in order to secure the front face of the sleeve to the back face as well as to the padding therebetween to stiffen the sleeve. The stitching is particularly located at the top area of the flattened back of the sleeve, the front area of the flattened seat of the sleeve and the transition area between the back and seat of the pad in order to aid the pad in conforming to the bends of a chair, particularly in the transition zone between the seat and back of a chair. The stitching also provides an aesthetic appearance to the seat pad.
The seat pad can be easily and quickly installed on a chair and secured in place using a single strap that, for example, envelopes the back of the chair. The strap also serves to hold the pad in place so that the pad conforms to and follows the contour of the chair. In a similar manner, the pad may be easily and quickly removed from a chair when desired.